MIAMI-The Florida House Education committee made history Monday when it passed the religious equality (freedom to pray) bill just days after the Christian Family Coalition (CFC) recruited three (3) key House Education committee members as co-sponsors (during its recent "Day at the Capitol" event) and the Florida State Senate passed it with a bipartisan majority!

The Florida House Education committee passed the bill yesterday morning by a 9-6 margin. The bill moves next to the Judiciary committee where it is expected to pass easily. Afterwards, the Florida House of Representatives is expected to take up the bill and pass it before session ends.

Momentum is building for the legislation, State Rep. Charles Van Zant, House sponsor of the bill, is doing a tremendous job of gaining support for the historic bill among his colleagues, we all owe him a debt of gratitude!

Furthermore, public opinion is clearly in favor of religious equality (freedom to pray), especially after this weekend's two editorials supporting the bill in Florida's leading newspapers. The Palm Beach Post and the Tampa Bay Times featured editorials by the Christian Family Coalition (CFC) forcefully arguing in support of the legislation which authorizes district school boards to adopt a policy that allows an inspirational message to be delivered by students at a student assembly.

The Christian Family Coalition, (CFC), issued the following statement:

"We applaud the members of the Florida House Education committee for having the courage to do the right thing.

Schoolchildren in Florida face religious discrimination on a daily basis, however, because of today's vote, they are safer.

Recent hate-filled editorials in Florida's major newspapers demonstrate that religious bigotry is rampant, from the schoolhouse to the newsroom, as columnists have openly mocked legislators and religious equality (freedom to pray) supporters. Indeed, discrimination against children of faith is a scourge on our state and it’s time we protect religious students in our schools and give administrators the tools they need to combat this serious problem. No one should face discrimination simply because of what they believe, this bill is a critical step to erasing the hate in our schools and newsrooms, that has devastated far too many families.”